Everything's Meant to Be Broken
by AmberLynne1129
Summary: Stupid, charming, original vampire! Who the hell did he think he was? Tearing the town apart, hurting the people she cared about, utterly disrespecting the sanctity of human life, and then waltzing into her life all vulnerable and undeniably human.
1. This Whatever

Klaus fancied her? Or at least he had before she'd given him a piece of her mind.

He thought she was beautiful…..strong…..full of light.

He wanted to take her places.

Wait, hold the phone on that. Not just places. He wanted to show her the world.

Rome…Paris….Tokoyo to be specific. Or at least those were the places he'd described to her while wearing that stupid, magnetic grin with his puppy dog eyes all full of tender amusement and adoration.

WHAT THE HELL?

Stupid, charming, original vampire! Who the hell did he think he was? Tearing this town apart, hurting the people she cared about the most, showing an utter disrespect for the sanctity of human life, and then waltzing on in to her life acting all chivalrous and noble as he tried to woo her like a 18th century gentleman.

It doesn't work that way. The world does not work that way. It couldn't work that way. Psychotic killers didn't become captivating suitors overnight. That's just crazy. It didn't even happen in the movies.

Tyler. She needed to call Tyler. She needed him to come home and kiss her till she was dizzy. She needed him to save her from whatever this…this…UHG! She didn't even know what to call it.

This "whatever" with Klaus.

She picked up her phone and calmly dialed his number. Always keep your composure. That was rule number one of surviving in this crazy, horror-flick of a town.

"Tyler, it's me," she started as if that wasn't obvious.

"Look, I'm grateful for what you are doing," and she was. She knew how excruciating the transition was. She'd been with him the first time, literally holding him together as the bones of his body broke underneath her, not from her force but from the inner beast clawing to break free. So, to think of him out there, alone, putting himself through that over and over. It was almost too much to bear, "but I miss you and I really wish you were here."

And that was it. She didn't know what else to say. What else could she say? _"Oh, and by the way. You know, Klaus. The epitome of psychotic, bad-ass, villains…well he fancies me." _

Yeah. NOT!

She set her phone down and let out a much needed sigh when she saw the small, black box with a white-ribbon in the mirror. She quickly rose in disbelief and walked over to grab it. Not gently, but with great irritation. What the hell?

"Seriously?" she exclaimed shaking her head, "Just give up already."

He'd done way too many terrible things for her to even consider giving him a chance. Sure, he was fascinating. She couldn't deny it. There was so much depth to him. And not just figuratively, but when you looked in his eyes, he just kept going on forever. There were layers of mystery, and pain, and beauty. Something that you no doubt collect after over a thousand years of existence. But all of that paled in comparison to the monster he had proven himself to be. As he drained Aunt Jenna and Elena of their life on an alter for his own self-fish gain. As he took Stephen's humanity and as he kept Tyler as a sired slave, he was a fiend.

She threw the black box on the bed as she began to unroll the paper it held inside. What was with the boxes with the white ribbons anyway? What, first a Cinderella ball complex and now a Phantom of the Opera tie a ribbon around your gift to show my creepy affection complex.

Another sigh.

The page smoothed to reveal a sketch of her and a horse. Caroline's breath hitched slightly. It was beautiful and unexpected. But, what made this gesture so exquisite was the message written in elegant script in the bottom right corner of the page.

_Thank you for your honesty, Klaus._

If her heart could beat it would have been purring. She felt flush. What, what did this mean?

Stupid, charming, original vampire! Who the hell did he think he was? Tearing this town apart, hurting the people she cared about the most, showing an utter disrespect for the sanctity of human life, and then waltzing on in to her life all vulnerable, and sincere, and sweet, and …. undeniably human.

It wasn't fair. The world didn't work this way. Bad people are bad. Good people are good. Those are the camps. Bad people aren't good people. Bad people can't be good people. Bad people don't just become good people without lots of effort. I mean like colossal, enormous, Mt. Everest and the Great Wall of China combined amounts of effort. Months, or years, or decades of effort.

She looked at the note again, and knew exactly what this meant. He wasn't going to give up. Klaus fancied her, and to him it was as simple as that.

She hated herself for feeling pleased.


	2. No Sleep

I don't own any of the characters…just hoping I can portray them accurately =)

She lay in her bed staring at the ceiling above her. The light begging behind her curtains told her it was morning.

Super. She hadn't gotten a wink of sleep. It wasn't for the lack of trying. She just couldn't get those words out of her head.

_Thank you for your honesty, Klaus_

They toyed with her all night long. And as if it wasn't bad enough that she could hear his crisp English accent annunciate every syllable flawlessly, when she closed her eyes she could see his face. She could see the genuine sincerity in his eyes.

It almost made her sick. The way he could be so charming and alluring. How he could smile, joke, and laugh like it was the most natural thing in the world. She wanted to hate him because he was a psychotic killer whose mood could flip like a light switch. The person he'd just been all chatty with could wind up with their heart in his hand. She'd seen he'd killed Tyler and even if it was to turn him into a hybrid, Klaus wouldn't have cared if Tyler had died. She knew he'd turned and killed Aunt Jenna when it was completely unnecessary. How he'd tried to have Jeremy ran over, and stole Stephen's humanity. This monster had drained Elena dry until she was merely a limp shell. She knew all these things were true. No one, not even Klaus himself could deny them. For crying out loud, Klaus had her and Tyler chained up ready to be sacrificed to break the hybrid curse before Damon had rescued them. And if Damon hadn't rescued them, her first and last encounter with the hybrid would have been being sacrificed on an altar with her blood being poured over a silly rock. But that wasn't the case. If it had been it would be easy to hate him. Well, technically she would be dead and not have to worry about it, but that was beside the point. All the things she knew about Klaus up until this point had been attributed to this abstract being. Caroline had never seen Klaus this way. She'd never seen him basking in his villainous infamy. And that's what had kept her up all night. Trying over and over to place the Klaus she knew personally, a man that loved birthdays and dancing and gave inspiring speeches at someone's death bed, in those situations as the villain. She wanted so desperately to hate him, but this man that revealed his love for culture and his desire to share the world with somebody just didn't fill those shoes. She just couldn't wrap her mind around it and it was wearing her out. As if the sleep deprivation wasn't enough.

She closed her eyes. No one would miss her if she wasn't at school today. Her dad had just died. Not a soul would hold it against her. Maybe the comfort of the sun could chase away this confusing mess of thoughts that the moon had failed to.

She was just starting to relax when she sensed someone's presence. Her eyes flew open.

"Boo," the voice said in a hushed quick tone right in her ear.

Caroline quickly rolled to her left to face him, armed with a pillow she smacked him as hard as she could without sending feathers flying.

"Damon!" she shrieked, "Get out of my bed!"

"Why?" he replied defiantly with his coy little smile, "your mom's off to work." He always thought he was so clever. With his flirty eye thing and shrewd one-liners, he was irresistible to most women. He had been to her at one point in time. Now, when he wasn't saving her life and playing the hero, he was just annoying.

She let out a sigh of frustration.

"Damon, seriously," Caroline shot him a glare as she sat up in her bed and folded her arms, "I'm not in the mood to deal with you and your smart ass comments."

"Wow, Cinderella's a bit testy after the ball. Did you stay out past midnight?" Damon taunted.

She tried to smack him again with the pillow, but he dodged it and was now standing at the end of her bed mirroring her cross armed position as he stared down at her.

"No, I just didn't get much sleep last night," she stated. But after she said it she wished she'd just kept her mouth shut.

Damon's eyes got wide, "Did things go that well with the Dark prince last night?"

And as he moved his eyebrows up and down in a suggestive manner, Caroline wanted to strangle him. Even though she'd set herself up for it, she didn't care. That was completely uncalled for.

"Oh, just shut-up Damon," she let out another exasperated sigh, "you don't even know what the hell you're talking about." she knew there was no way that Klaus's shining towards her would stay under wraps for long, but leave it to the older Salvatore to stick his nose where it didn't belong and dig something up before there was even anything to be found.

"Nothing is going on between me and Klaus," Caroline added, and it was true, sort of.

"Klaus? Who said anything about Klaus?" Damon feigned ignorance, "I was talking about Elijah."

"Damn it Damon," Caroline had had enough, "you're not funny. Now please just say what you came to say and then get out."

"Well, for starters I don't like your tone," Damon began, " here I come over out of the goodness of my own heart to make sure your date last night didn't rip your heart out and you are trying to rip my head off." Damon always had a way of being able to make himself seem innocent and victimized. "and you sure are getting worked up about something that supposedly is nothing."

"He wasn't my date," Caroline responded indignantly, "I only went to that stupid ball because I'd seen Rebekah invite Matt, and I wanted to be there to keep an eye on him."

"That's creepy," Damon drawled, "and a lie."

"It is not a lie," Caroline retorted, but when he just stared at her with one eyebrow raised in disbelief she hollered to reaffirm the fact, "I'm not lying Damon!"

"Well, either you are lying," Damon started but paused as he picked up the sketch from Klaus that had been sitting on her dresser. Damn it. She knew she should have put it away.

"or, Rebekah was lying," he finished his thought, "and with this as evidence," he held up the sketch, "I'm gonna go with my gut instinct and say that you're being the untruthful one."

"well, believe what you want, but I wasn't his date. All he did was ask me to save him a dance on the back of the invitation from his WHOLE family," Caroline put an unnecessary amount of emphasis on the word whole.

"Mhmm" was all Damon had to say in response.

"And since when did you start hanging out with the she devil?" Caroline insisted. Wanting to shift the uncomfortable subject matter from her to him, and to her surprise it worked. Damon physically tensed at the confrontation, but only for a fraction of a second. In fact anyone with more inept senses may have missed it entirely.

He was back to his suave, cocky, composed self before he spoke again, "We're," he paused to think, "friendly."

Caroline got the feeling that his choice of word implied more than just your coffee at Starbucks type of friend, but before she could question him further he spoke up again.

"But, I'm not here to talk about my relations with the original family. I'm here to talk about yours," he firmly stated, "Rebekah told me that Klaus had been showering you with presents and trying to enchant you with his charms. Is that true?"

"No," Caroline immediately blurted in her defense. But, if there was one thing Caroline was not it was subtle. Damon eyed her suspiciously as he held up the sketch wiggling it back and forth for dramatic effect.

She rolled her eyes. As if she couldn't see it right there in front of her face.

"I mean, maybe a little," Caroline admitted guiltily, "I mean to say he's been showering me with gifts is a complete exaggeration. All he did was give me a diamond bracelet for my birthday and a ballgown to where to the party." After she said it she realized just how elaborate those gifts were, "I gave the bracelet back though," she quickly added.

"You gave it back?" Damon inquired with a dumbfounded, shocked expression, "And, you're still alive to tell me about it?"

"Yeah," Caroline responded, "I actually sorta threw it at him. It was probably a little rude"

Again Damon just stared at her.

She didn't know if she should tell him the rest, but the words started spilling out of her before she could control them. She really had to work on that.

"Well, he really ticked me off. I sort of brought up the hybrids and how wrong it was to keep Tyler sired to him, and then he was all like, 'I think it's time for you to go'. But, I wasn't ready to go yet. Not before he got a piece of my mind. So I told him that he had deep routed father issues which made it so he didn't think anyone would ever care about him so he had to force people's loyalty. But, the real reason no one cared about him is because he didn't even attempt to connect with them."

Damon looked, well, he looked both shocked and proud, "Look at you going all Badass Barbie."

She sighed and rolled her eyes again as she realized she'd never paused for a breath during her little rant.

"Well, two things are for sure," Damon said confidently, "You've got guts and Klaus must really like you because you should be dead after that little episode."

"I thought I was dead," Caroline quickly quipped.

"Touché," Damon replied, "Just be careful. Klaus is dangerous and manipulative. Not such a hot combination. You can't trust him."

Caroline nodded, but what for she was not exactly sure…agreement, acknowledgement, just to get him off the subject. But, she at least knew how to get him to stop, "Careful Damon, I might actually think you care."

"Hey," he replied, "my list is small." And he gave her a playful smile in an attempt to hide just how much she knew he did care.

And then, unexpectedly his face become stoned and serious, his tone firm, "We are going to kill him Caroline. Even if it means we all go in the process. Klaus is going to die."

Once again Caroline found herself nodding without knowing exactly why other than it was the appropriate gesture to make.

"I just don't want you to forget that. He's been the bad guy since the start and no one is going to just roll over and forgive him because he's decided he likes one of the locals and is going to be on his best behavior." Damon stated point blank, "He's wreaked havoc on this town since the moment he arrived. He has to die."

"Okay," Caroline responded sharply.

"You sure? That wasn't very convincing." Damon interrogated.

"I said okay, okay," she stated with spite, her tone elevated, "Now are we done here. I have to get ready for school."

"Yeah, I'm done." Damon stated as he made his way to the bedroom door, and mockingly added on his way out the door, "have fun at school."

Caroline chucked a pillow at him, but he averted it as he zoomed out of the house at top speed.

She quickly went over to the dresser and picked up the sketch, storing it in a book for safe keeping. Not that everyone wasn't going to find out about it anyway but it just felt like something that should be kept in a private place whether everyone knew or not.

Her back slid down the dresser as she found her way to the floor. She sat there letting the warm sunlight shine on her face. As if this mess wasn't complicated enough Damon had to go all older brother on her. Not that it wasn't nice to know that he cared, she was just already confused about her own feelings so to have him come in here and basically tell her how she had to feel, well that was just bogus. He was so controlling sometimes. And what the hell was that holier-than thou speech about bad guys and forgiveness. In the quietness of her room, Caroline whispered almost inaudibly the thing that was eating at her more than anything else, and what she hadn't been brave enough to say to Damon's face.

"We forgave you."


	3. Almost Deceived

**SO I'M PLANNING ON LOOSELY FOLLOWING WHAT HAPPENS IN THE EPISODES, BUT THEN ADDING MY OWN TWIST TO THEM. I HOPE THAT IS OKAY WITH EVERYONE. PLEASE ENJOY THIS CHAPTER. =)**

**AS ALWAYS I DON'T OWN ANY OF THE CHARACTERS.**

This was not how Caroline had envisioned spending her day as she stood outside Elena's bedroom door.

"Is it working?" Elena beckoned from inside the room.

Oh, boy. Here we go. "It's not working," Caroline stated as she opened the door, "I can hear every word you're saying about Damon the vampire gigilo."

Elena had been venting about Damon's latest indiscretion. Caroline knew he'd been too smug earlier about the whole Rebekah thing. 'We're friendly,' were his exact words. Jerk.

Elena just sighed. Caroline hated to see her hurt, but her friend should have known better than to let herself become emotionally involved with a world class jack like Damon.

"I don't know," Bonnie interjected, "it's a tricky spell."

Elena was quick to respond, "When Esther did it she kept the sage burning. There was a lot more smoke."

"Alright," Bonnie agreed reluctantly, "try it again."

They both looked to Caroline to indicate she should leave now.

Super. She let out a sigh of frustration, and then proceeded to exit the room and close the door behind her.

This was not working. She could hear everything Bonnie and Elena were talking about. It was hard to believe that just last night they'd been guests at a ball and this woman, Esther, had stood in front of an audience of people professing her love for her family. Now she wanted them all dead. Things really did change fast in Mystic Falls. Well, I guess this meant she wasn't going to have to worry about her Klaus dilemma for long. Death has a way of taking you off the dating market.

Elena's next words broke through Caroline's train of thought, "I've been thinking. Before the Sun and the Moon ritual, Elijah found a way to keep me alive. Now, I'm in the exact same position, and I'm just going to let him die. It just doesn't feel right."

Elena, always the martyr. Caroline swore that her friend felt as though she carried the burden of the world on her shoulders. She'd had enough. The spell wasn't working, and Elena was wrong to, once again, be thinking that everything was her fault.

She burst through the bedroom door. She had a thing or two to add to this conversation.

"Okay, first of all this privacy spell is totally not working," she stated the obvious, "Second, Elena, YOU are not doing this," she stressed the you in an attempt to make her point more vivid, "Esther is doing this."

Elena couldn't fix this. Esther would have taken her blood by force had Elena not offered it, and Caroline knew that. Her friend really needed to stop beating herself up about something she could not prevent.

Bonnie chimed in, "There is no time to change your mind, Elena. He'll be dead by the end of the night."

"What?" Elena asked clearly troubled and shocked.

"It's a full moon," Bonnie started, "Esther needs to harness the energy of a celestial event. She asked me and Abby to join her."

Elena, just stared blankly into the distance.

"Elena," Caroline began, "there's nothing that you could have done. Esther wants them dead. She would have used you even if you hadn't agreed."

"Caroline, please," Elena petitioned as her eyes started to glass over, "just stop."

Caroline didn't know what else to say so she just nodded towards her friend and respected her wishes. What was up with all this nodding today? She was beginning to feel like a bobble-head on the dashboard of a car.

They had sat there in silence for barely a minute when suddenly there was a knock at the front door.

Elena immediately snapped herself out of her gaze, rubbed her eyes to erase any signs of wetness, and jumped to her feet.  
>"I'll get it," she stated.<p>

Caroline and Bonnie both watched her as she left the room.

"Do you think she's going to be okay?" Caroline asked, "I mean after this whole thing with Stephen, and then Damon and Rebekah, and now this."

"Caroline, we've all been through a lot," Bonnie responded, "more than most of us ever thought we could handle, but somehow we always manage."

Bonnie was right. She was always so much wiser than the rest of them when it came to realizing a situation for what it really was. Caroline didn't know what she would do without a friend like her.

"One thing is for sure though," Bonnie continued with a firm sense of conviction, "we'll all be much better off once Klaus is dead."

Again, Caroline nodded. She was beginning to believe that this was becoming her default reaction when she didn't know what else to do. One this was for sure though, she was feeling really uncomfortable as Bonnie stared at her. Bonnie had this way of looking at her, well at anyone really, as though she could see right into her soul and perceive things that Caroline herself didn't even understand. She had to change the subject and fast, but without seeming like she was trying to escape an uncomfortable situation. And then it dawned on her. Where was Elena?

"What do you think is taking Elena so long?" Caroline asked as she opened the bedroom door and tried to peer down the staircase.

"I don't know. Is she down there?" Bonnie replied as she got off the bed to join Caroline.

"Elena," Caroline called out her friend's name, but there was no response.

She zoomed down the stairs and around the first floor of the house, but Elena was nowhere to be found.

"She's not here," Caroline declared with panic. She flung the front door open just in time to catch a glimpse of Elena in the passenger seat of vehicle as it rounded the street corner. Elijah was driving.

"Do you see her?" Bonnie exclaimed with just as much panic as Caroline had been in a moment prior.

"Yeah, I saw her," Caroline stated flatly. She turned to Bonnie before she continued, "She was in that car. She's with Elijah."

Bonnie's eyes widened, "That can't be good."

And it wasn't, but Caroline didn't realize just how bad it was until she received a phone call from Damon a few hours later.

"Hello," Caroline answered.

"Hey Blondie, we need your help," Damon cut to the chase real quick, "you up for it?"

"Of course, but what's going on? Where's Elena?" Caroline quickly exclaimed.

"Elijah has her," Damon revealed, "Well, actually Rebekah has her, but somehow they found out about what Esther had planned, and they are using her as leverage so Stephen and I will stop it from going down."

"Hm. Having any regrets about sleeping with her now?" Caroline couldn't help the smug comment as it escaped her lips. It really wasn't appropriate given the urgent nature of the situation, but he deserved.

"Oh, shut-up," Damon pronounced, "we don't have much time before Rebekah rips Elena's heart."

"Okay, what's the plan?" Caroline refocused herself.

"Let's just say it's on a need to know basis," Damon responded.

"Well, then why the hell did you call me in the first place?" Caroline roared.

"Easy, I didn't say we didn't need your help. It's just the less you know the better off you are," Damon responded.

"Fine, just tell me what you need me to do so I can go do it," she snapped.

"We need you to go to the Grill and distract Klaus. Get him away from Kol." Damon countered.

Damn it. She knew Damon was going to use this whole Klaus thing as an angle in one of his diabolical plans. She just didn't think it would be so soon.

"Do you think you can handle that?" Damon asked but there was a tone of belittlement in his voice that ground on Caroline's nerves.

"I'll be a better distraction that you've ever been. I won't get his hand thrust in my chest around my heart." Caroline retorted a little smug.

"Maybe not physically, but I don't have time to sit and talk logistics. Just look pretty and work whatever it is that he finds so charming about you," Damon responded and just like that he was gone. He hung up before she could even utter another syllable.

She drove to the grill in complete silence. She needed it to prepare herself for what she was about to do.

"You hate him," she whispered to herself, "He killed Tyler. He sired Tyler. He killed Jenna. He killed Elena. He tried to kill Bonnie." She was listing off all the bad things Klaus had done. She had to keep herself focused on his villainy. It was the only way she knew she'd be able to look him in the face, knowing he was about to die and not let him see some weakness he could pry open. Damon was right. She was a terrible liar and awful at deceiving people. She had to focus. Elena's life was at stake. She couldn't forget that.

Confidence. Be confident. And that was what she attempted to exude as she strutted into the Grill. She noticed Alaric to her right as she walked through the door. He was on the phone and staring at her. He was in on the plan. She could tell. She raised her eyebrows to acknowledge him and let him know that she was in the plan to. She refocused on the bar, and there he was, relaxed, leaning against the bar with drink in hand and his brother, Kol, at his side.

Here we go. She approached the bar pretending not to notice him.

"Caroline," Klaus beckoned after her as she was about to pass.

"Oh, it's you," she responded with a hint of disgust in her voice as she folded her arms across her chest. So far so good.

Klaus looked away for a brief pause. Was he embarrassed by her harshness? Wow, that was…unexpected. When he spoke it was kind and almost….timid, "Join us for a drink?"

His brother on the other hand was projecting enough arrogance for the two of them as he raised his glass in correspondence with Klaus's words.

"hmm, I'd rather die of thirst, but thanks," was her response. And she knew it was a good line. Now, to get him to come to her. She raised her eyebrows in a sexy but defiant way, and then proceeded to leave.

"Caroline!" he called after her just outside the Grill doors.

It worked. She could hardly believe it worked. Now to just push a little more.

"Are you serious," she turned around and stated, "take a hint."

"Don't be angry love," he continued as he followed after her, "we had a little spat. I'm over it already."

"Aw, well I'm not," she teased over her shoulder as she proceeded walking. This was so strange for her. Caroline was used to being the one going after what she wanted, not being the one sought after. She was enjoying every second of this game of cat and mouse.

"Well, how can I quit myself?" Klaus asked with an eager sincerity.

She sighed and turned to face him with a more serious tone and stated, "You and your expensive jewelry and your romantic drawings can leave me alone."

A look of shock and sadness painted his face. He beseeched her, "Oh come on. Take a chance Caroline."

Caroline couldn't help but admit to herself that was pleasantly unexpected and rather adorable. She smiled, and he could tell that he was breaking her resolve.

He quickly moved to a bench and took a seat, "Talk to me."

She just stood there, astonished and flattered.

"Come on, get to know me," he pleaded.

Her eyes softened. He really was trying. He really did want this. It wasn't just part of some master plan of his. He was being genuine.

"I dare you," he added playfully and then smiled a sweet, mischievous smirk.

Her resolve broke, and he could tell as he continued to gaze at her.

"Fine," she responded attempting to sound frustrated.

He just watched her in silence as she took a seat on the bench next to him. She could tell he was admiring her.

She had to say something before she started blushing, "So, what do you want to talk about?"

His eyes never lost her as he raised his eyebrows and declared, "I want to talk about you."

She looked away, and let out another sigh of disbelief. Really, that was his line? After 1,000 years he couldn't come up with something better? She couldn't help but smile.

It had been meant to be lighthearted, but when he continued all jest left his voice. He looked at her with earnest sincerity and continued, "Your hopes and dreams, everything you want in life."

It was unbelievable, but Caroline new he was being candid. She shook her head and laughed in disbelief. Then she captured his gaze again and stated, "Just to be clear. I'm too smart to be seduced by you."

He stared back at her and simply acknowledged, "Well, that's why I like you."

He recognized her intelligence. She was not some blond bimbo that would beckon to his every whim. She was a challenge. Caroline was feisty and strong and Klaus knew this. Somehow she had earned his favor, but more importantly his respect.

Caroline could feel her resolve breaking as he looked at her and smiled. She couldn't let it. Klaus had to die. He was the villain, but seeing him sitting before her like a school boy with a crush, it was so hard to keep that in perspective.

"So, Caroline, are you going to talk to me?" he asked sweetly.

"You don't really want to know all about me," Caroline stated trying to thwart her intensifying guilt.

"I assure you love, I do," he encouraged, "consider this my attempt to connect with you." He smiled brazenly knowing that she would recognize her own quote from the previous night.

It was just too much. Here this man was before her doing his very best to relate to her, something that maybe he'd never done before, and she was just going to let him die. She couldn't do it. He'd done nothing to her to deserve her deception. He'd saved her life. She owed him this.

She made her face as serious as stone and the tone in her voice to match, "Klaus you need to leave."

He stared at her in disbelief at this sudden outburst, "Oh come on love, that's not very kind to tell a man he has your ear and then take it away from him before you even give him a chance. You are better than that."

"You need to go into the Grill, get Kol, and go home to Elijah," she stated again hoping with the additional details he might catch her drift. This was a warning.

Suddenly he tensed and his face drained of all playfulness, in fact it drained of almost all emotion entirely, "What do you know Caroline," he demanded.

"I know you need to take your brother and go home," she repeated with more emphasis on the go.

"What do you know Caroline!" he demanded again.

Okay, she was hoping she wouldn't have to go into more details, but he wasn't going to leave without more, "Everything I know, Elijah can fill you in on. There is a reason I'm left out of the loop on a lot of details. It's because I am a terrible liar. Now just go to Elijah, Klaus," she was begging now, "There is not much time. He can tell you anything you need to know."

He analyzed her for a second longer, and must have determined she was telling the truth because just like that Caroline was left alone.

She walked over to the Grill window and saw Kol protesting at Klaus's demand that they leave immediately.

"I don't want to go just because you are upset that some girl ignored your advances," Kol declared, "be a man about it."

"Kol, we are leaving," Klaus scolded his brother, "I'll explain when we get home, but you are coming with me, conscience or not."

Kol was going to open his mouth with some sarcastic reply, but instead let out a sigh and grabbed his jacket, "You better have a good reason for ruining my fun."

Caroline saw Alaric standing in the corner dumbfounded. He shook his head as if to snap himself back into reality, grabbed his phone and made a call. Caroline knew it would be to Damon.

She watched as Klaus and Kol took off towards home. Did she do the right thing? She sure as hell hoped so. It had felt like the right thing at the time, but she knew she was going to have to answer for it.

Thirty seconds later, her phone rang. It was Damon.

"Here we go," she breathed.


	4. I Understand

**THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR ALL THE REVIEWS, AND FAVORITES, AND STORY ALERTS. THEY REALLY ARE WHAT KEEP ME GOING. I HOPE YOU ENJOY THIS CHAPTER. I'M REALLY LOOKING FORWARD TO THE NEXT CHAPTER THOUGH. TEHEHEHE.**

"What happened," Damon's voice questioned sharply through the other line.

Caroline began to panic. She hadn't had time to think about, well, to think about anything really let alone what she was going to say about what had just happened between her and Klaus.

"Caroline," Damon firmly said her name, "what the hell happened?"

She didn't know how to respond. Lie? Tell the truth? Play dumb?

"He left," she finally blurt out swiftly. That was true.

"Way to state the obvious," Damon harshly retorted, "but why did he leave?"

"I don't know Damon," Caroline replied in her best _what did you expect_ tone. It was a lie, but maybe she could play this one out, "I couldn't exactly hold him down."

"Well there has to be a reason Caroline," Damon continued prodding, clearly frustrated, "I mean to tell me he followed you out of the Grill only to turn around and go back in just doesn't make sense. You were supposed to play hard to get, but not impossible to get."

"Well, I'm sorry that I'm not a professional at seducing and keeping the interest of a 1,000 year old hybrid," Caroline sarcastically replied, "it's a kind of learn as you go process."

"I'm just trying to figure out what went wrong," Damon wasn't letting up. He wasn't buying her story.

"Seriously Damon?" Caroline began, if he wasn't going to be satisfied with her answers she was going to have to play dirty, "Elena is being held hostage by a vengeful vampire and you want to talk about the reasons why Klaus would lose interest in me and walk away? Does he even need a reason? He's twisted and psychotic."

There was a pause. She could tell he was thinking about her words.

"I guess that will do. I didn't understand his attraction to you in the first place anyway," Damon stated, "All-powerful vampire hybrid falling for a cute, neurotic, highschool cheerleader. Just didn't jive well."

"Always the charmer, Damon. Thanks for the self-esteem boost," Caroline responded with acid in her voice. He was such a dick. Whatever Elena saw in him, outside of his impressive ability to save her life and those gorgeous blue eyes, she was clueless too. At least he'd said she was cute.

"Anytime Caroline, "Damon smoothly replied, "now go home."

"Fine," Caroline bit back. What else was she going to do anyway.

"Wait for Bonnie and Abby," Damon firmly and hastily ordered.

"Wait. What? Why?" suddenly Caroline could feel panic returning. Why were Bonnie and Abby coming to her house? What did Damon know that he wasn't telling her? Were they in danger?

"Damon, Damon! You answer me this minute! What the hell is going on, Damon!" Caroline shouted into the phone but to no avail. Damon was already gone.

She sped to her car leaving a trail of flying newspaper and overturned leaves behind her. She couldn't get her keys out fast enough even with her vampire speed. Damn that Coach purse she thought was so perfect because it had so many compartments to store things. More like so many compartments to misplace things in. For a second she considered that it might be faster to run home. But, then she found them, and she hastily sped home. Paying no attention to the speed limit signs or even the stoplights, she was a vampire. She need not worry about petty things like speed limits and road safety at a time like this. However, she was also the sheriff's daughter so she couldn't help but feel a twinge of guilt, regardless of how she tried to justify it. There was a part of her that would always crave to hold on to the normalcy of things like speed limits and stoplights, but tonight was an emergency and she was choosing to view the fact that she was an exception to normal as a blessing rather than a curse.

As she pulled into her driveway all of the lights to her house were off and there were no cars in the proximity. She was alone. Whatever was going to happen had not happened yet. Caroline grabbed her phone and called the only person she knew would be brutally honest with her.

"Stephen, what is going on?" Caroline promptly demanded.

"Caroline, this really isn't the time," Stephen replied.

"Damn it Stephen, tell me what is going on!" Caroline snapped.

There was brief pause and then….."We're turning Bonnie's mom into a vampire, Caroline," Stephen hastily spat back.

Caroline was not expecting that. She didn't know what exactly she was expecting, but whatever it was it wasn't that.

"No, no, no, no, no, no," it was all Caroline could think to say, "You can't do that."

"It's the only way to save Elena," Stephen replied with strong conviction, "I don't like it either, but Esther is channeling the whole line of Bennet witches. Alive and dead. The only way to break the line is to turn her into a vampire."

Caroline immediately understood.

"Because you can't be both a vampire and a witch," she somberly affirmed. It all made perfect sense.

"Exactly," Stephen assured.

"What about what you were going to do to Kol earlier, why can't you do that?" Caroline quickly insisted, hoping that whatever it was maybe it would still work. Otherwise she was going to have to live an eternity knowing that she was the cause of Klaus and Kol's escape. She was the one that ruined the plan. She was the reason Bonnie's mom was about to become a vampire.

"That was some hair brained scheme that Damon came up with that most likely would have ended in failure," Stephen stated scornfully.

"But it might still work?" Caroline continued to prod. At least it wasn't some brilliant plan that Stephen had had full faith in. He doubted it, and Caroline found comfort in that.

"No, Alaric was going to dagger Kol at the grill, in order incapacitate all of the originals and allow Elena to get away," Stephen revealed, "but it would have never worked. The dagger wouldn't have taken Klaus out and him being so nearby with you, he most likely would have rescued his brother. It was a really stupid plan."

Caroline instantly felt better. That was a really stupid plan. Suddenly she felt really dumb for blindly going along with it in the first place and risking her life to deceive Klaus for something so foolish. Never again would she go along with one of Damon's schemes without first getting all of the details.

"Yeah, I feel really stupid for going along with it," Caroline ashamedly admitted.

"I'm pissed at Damon that he would have you risk your life for something so idiotic," Stephen lamented.

Bless Stephen, he was coming around. Slowly but surely, Caroline could see the remnants of the man that had been so kind and supportive to her during her first days as a vampire. Elena's love for Stephen Caroline always understood. She even understood how Elena had held onto it despite the ass Stephen had been when he was Klaus's sidekick. The kind of goodness Stephen had possessed just didn't disappear into oblivion. Once it attaches itself to you, it will always find its way back. And so it was with Stephen. His goodness was coming back, and when this was all said and done, he would probably be an even better person than he was before. Guilt has a way of making you seek redemption, and Stephen had a lot to feel guilty for.

Caroline swiftly refocused the conversation, "Are you sure there isn't another way?"

"I wish there was Caroline," Stephen somberly replied, "I really wish there was."

And then he was gone.

Poor Bonnie. She was so strong and selfless. She was always so ready to sacrifice herself for those she loved. That kind of person deserved happiness, but somehow her acts of valor were always repaid with pain. Caroline couldn't take it anymore. She sat down her phone and cried, alone in the darkness.

It was an hour before she heard the footsteps at her front door. She swiftly rose to answer the door. Wiping her eyes and attempting to compose herself before answering. She didn't want Bonnie to see the mess she had been. She had to be strong for her friend.

When she opened the door and saw Bonnie's forlorn face, Caroline was immediately thankful that she knew exactly what her friend was feeling. She wasn't grateful that her father had died, but she knew that every situation in life prepared you for something. And the fact that she could be there for her friend in this moment, to not just support her but to understand her, gave Caroline a joy that she knew her dad would be proud of. She took a hold of Bonnie as tightly as the witch's body would allow. Bonnie's sobs bellowed deep and unearthly from within her soul. Caroline recognized them all to well.

"shhhhhh," Caroline soothed, "just let it out. It's okay. I'm not going anywhere."

Stephen quickly moved past them and gently laid Abby's lifeless body on Caroline's bed. The three of them stood in the room, staring at Abby with somber eyes. The grief that filled the room wrapped itself around them like a blanket of dense fog, pressuring their chests, and choking their breath. Bonnie held her mother's hand, stroking it tenderly. Caroline knew that the worst was not over, and that was the presence haunting the corners of the room. Abby had to make her choice.

Stephen leaned in towards Caroline and whispered, "Are you okay with this?"

"I can't think of anywhere better for her to be," Caroline responded sincerely.

Stephen acknowledged this with a gentle nod, "I'm going to go then. I need to find Elena."

"Okay, let me know when you find her," Caroline urged as she reached out to touch his arm.

"I will," Stephen assured her and then turned to leave.

"Wait," Bonnie called after him. She rose to face Stephen. "I don't want her coming here."

Stephen stared at her slightly alarmed, but Caroline understood. She understood completely. Although Bonnie would never regret saving Elena's life, she couldn't help but blame her friend for what had happened. If Elena had not gotten in that car with Elijah, if she hadn't been so hell bent on saving the so called noble original, Bonnie's mom would not be lying here facing a life or death decision. Caroline understood, and she didn't blame her.

"Bonnie, are you…" Stephen started but before he could finish his question Bonnie cut him off.

"I don't want to see her tonight Stephen," she painfully reaffirmed as a tear slid down her cheek, "I just can't handle it tonight. Please," she begged, "just keep her away."

"Okay," he responded gravely, "whatever you need Bonnie."

Then he left, and Caroline and Bonnie were alone. Caroline just sat there with Bonnie in silence for an hour, watching her friend gaze upon her mother's peaceful face. She looked exhausted. Emotions had a way of wearing you out, not to mention the fact that Esther had been channeling power from Bonnie as well. That also had to be draining.

Caroline finally thought it was an appropriate time to speak up, "Bonnie, would you like me to make some coffee?" she asked affectionately as she placed a hand on her friends shoulder as if to physically support Bonnie when she opened her mouth to respond.

Bonnie looked up at her and smiled weakly, "That sounds really good Caroline."

"Okay, I'll go get some brewing," Caroline smiled back. She just loved being able to help people, even if it was as simple as a cup of coffee. Caroline got deep satisfaction and joy from helping others.

" Caroline," Bonnie called to her just as she was about to walk through the doorway.

She swiftly turned around, "Yes, Bonnie?" she asked gently as if not to break her friend with too harsh or loud a tone.

"I can't, I can't lose her," Bonnie confessed, fresh tears forming in her eyes, "I just got her back."

It took only a fraction of a second for Caroline to be back by Bonnie's side, "I know Bonnie," Caroline agreed, "I know."

"I missed her so much Caroline," Bonnie admitted, "I never realized how much I missed her until I had her."

It was strange seeing Bonnie so vulnerable. She always walked proud, with her shoulder's squared and head held high. She was rarely embarrassed or weak, unless if it involved a really cute guy. Caroline couldn't lie to Bonnie to comfort her. She was a terrible liar, that fact had already been established, but beyond that her friend deserved more than false hopes and fanciful wishes. No matter how hard it was, the only thing that someone like Bonnie ever deserved was the truth because that was all Bonnie would ever give in return.

"I don't know what's going to happen Bonnie," Caroline voice was aching, "but I think your mom feels the same way, and I'm sure that is going to majorly impact her decision when she wakes up."

Bonnie forced a smile.

"I know that you hate the idea of her being a vampire," Caroline continued, "but, if she starts off on the right foot she can beat this. It's not easy, but it's not impossible."

"You're right," Bonnie replied with a spot of hope shining through her voice beneath the tears, "you've grown so much Caroline, and it's all been for the better. There is hope and you are proof. Thank you."

Bonnie hugged Caroline, and Caroline found herself crying again. But these weren't tears of sadness but bliss. Bonnie's words meant more to Caroline than she could ever express. To know her friend that had hated what she was when she had turned now could see how much she had grown was a priceless treasure. To be able to give Bonnie hope was one of Caroline's greatest accomplishments in life. She would never forget this moment with all of its pain and all of its joy, it was perfect.

When Bonnie pulled out of the embrace she looked up at Caroline with a smirk and said, "Now how about that coffee."

"Right," Caroline replied wiping the tears from her eyes, "I'm on it."

She waltzed out of the room, triumphant. This is what being a friend truly meant.

She found her way into the kitchen only to discover that there were no coffee beans ground. It was probably for the best though; Bonnie needed a few minutes alone with her mom. Caroline hadn't been hovering by any means, but at time like these a mixture of support and isolation was necessary. She went about fetching the whole coffee beans from the freezer. She remembered the first time her mom had told her to stick the extra coffee beans in the freezer to keep them fresh, it made sense, but for some reason she thought it was silly. Now it was habit. She plugged the grinder in, hoping it wouldn't disturb Bonnie too much. The thought of fresh coffee was always a comfort though, at least to her and Bonnie loved coffee too. The aroma filled the air, and Caroline found herself lost in the smell. It was times like these that the heightened sense of smell was pure pleasure; the coffee grinder however was very irritating to her heighted sense of hearing. She turned the grinder off and started scooping fresh piles of coffee into the coffee maker becoming entranced with the normal, menial task. She obviously was exhausted too.

"Make some for me too. Will you, love?" a voice resonated from the kitchen table.

A chill ran down Caroline's spine at the sound of his smooth, alluring accent. She swiftly turned around to catch his eyes with hers.

"Klaus," she breathed.


	5. Coffee for Two

**THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR ALL OF THE REVIEWS, AND I THANKYOU TO THOSE WHO POINTED OUT I SPELLED STEFAN'S NAME WRONG. I KNEW I SHOULD HAVE DOUBLE CHECKED MYSELF. OOPS. THAT IS SO EMBARRASSING. IT WON'T HAPPEN AGAIN IN FUTURE CHAPTERS**

Caroline's mind was racing a million miles an hour. She couldn't figure out how he had snuck past her and found his way to the kitchen chair which he was currently reclining in. The coffee grinder, it had been so loud an atomic bomb could have gone off and she probably wouldn't have heard it. Acute hearing or not, that thing was wicked.

Caroline quickly regained rational composure as she raised one eyebrow and crossed her arms in front of her chest, "What do you want?"

"Aw, now there's no need to be that way Caroline," Klaus playfully implored as he leaned forward in the chair and rest his arms on the table, "I just came by for a quick chat."

"Oh, because that went so well last time," Caroline retorted.

"Well, there was a bit of blip, but I do recall my brother walking away unscathed from whatever harm your friends were planning for him. I wouldn't say that was a rather winning situation," Klaus elated.

Caroline couldn't think of a smart response. She was at a loss for words as she watched Klaus slowly rise from his chair and cautiously approach her all the while never losing her eyes with his.

As he stood only a few feet away, he looked at her with grave sincerity, "I wanted to say thank you on Kol's behalf. He would never do it himself. His pride is one of his defining virtues."

Caroline's mind started spinning. Klaus thought this was a winning situation. How could he possibly think this was a winning situation? He'd thought wrong, and now she was going to let him know it.

She shook her head and regained her composure, her face warping into a mask of stern warning, "Let's get a few things straight," she started off coldly, "first of all, I had no idea what my friends were up to. I didn't know they were going after Kol, so you have no business thanking me for him, and if I had meant to save his life, then you really would have no business thanking me for him," Caroline paused to take another deep breath and then started again before Klaus could interject whatever he was about to say, "Second, my friends have no idea that I'm the reason their plan didn't work, and I'd like to keep it that way. You owe me that at least," she tagged that last part on hoping Klaus had some sense of honor, "and third, there is no way in hell that this was a winning situation for anyone!" her tone was starting to creep up and she was hoping Bonnie wouldn't hear from the other room, "Bonnie's mom was turned into a vampire. Elena was tortured by your sister. Bonnie blames Elena that her mom is turning into a vampire. Elena and Bonnie are going to hate Damon for turning Bonnie's mom. Everyone is going to hate me if they find out I helped you. And even though you and your siblings are still alive, you found out that one of your brother's is on a suicide mission and your mother wants you all dead," Caroline sighed and then added to conclude her point, "What exactly is so winning about that?"

Now Klaus was the speechless one. He just stood there staring at her in astonishment. Caroline couldn't help but feel proud that she had actually left him speechless.

He looked down and away and then suddenly a small smirk formed on Klaus's face. He was smiling? Seriously, that's twisted.

"Caroline," he started and the way he said her name stole Caroline out of her own thoughts and focused her on him, "did you tell me to leave, to save me?" he questioned.

Damn it, Caroline was not expecting him to ask that so directly. Hint at it maybe, but to come right out and say it like that. I guess she sort of set herself up for it by telling him that she wasn't trying to save Kol, by default she knew what that meant and so did Klaus. She was feeling very uncomfortable and Klaus could tell. He was finding amusement in this, but it wasn't a mocking amusement. He wasn't trying to make her feel uncomfortable for the sake of making her miserable, he was prodding, searching for something and in his eyes there was hope. The anticipation was undeniable.

"I..I.." Caroline stammered which only made the intensity of Klaus's gaze increase, and although he had not said another word aloud his eyes were pushing, correction, they were longing for an answer.

Finally Caroline blasted the answer out in an attempt to burst the force of his gaze, "I couldn't just let you die! Okay, are you satisfied?"

His response was short, "No."

"What?" Caroline snapped back, annoyed, "What do you mean, no?"

"I want to know why. Why, did you warn me?" he pleaded with her, not begging, but as though the answer to her question would solve some mystery. It would answer some puzzle. It would be the key to some safe.

He wasn't going to leave until he got an answer that much was clear, and Caroline was not one to hold back the truth. She didn't want to answer the question. She didn't want to give him any false hope that maybe she would come around and respond to his advances. The truth was she could never allow herself to do that. His attention was flattering. He'd treated her with respect, and made her feel desired, but her friends meant to much to her. She couldn't turn her back on them. She'd warned him tonight, but she would never again allow herself to be put in that situation where she had to choose between her friends and Klaus.

She told him the truth, "I warned you because you didn't deserve my deceit," he was clearly intrigued by her answer as she continued, "you've turned Mystic Falls into a living hell since you've set foot here, but you saved my life and have been nothing but honest with me," Caroline looked away for a brief second in order to escape his eyes which were melting with her words, "And tonight as we sat on that bench you weren't Klaus, the evil hybrid harbinger of doom. You were just a man trying to get to know girl, and I decided that if you were going to die tonight, I wasn't going to have any part of it."

She looked up at him again and he looked…happy. There wasn't a stupid grin plastered on his face, but rather a quiet smile that reached all the way to his eyes and shone through. He then proceeded to reach out and gently capture Caroline's hand in his own. He brought her hand slowly towards his face, leaning in the rest of the way to close the gap and place a tender kiss upon it. Then, with his lips barely caressing her knuckles, he lifted his eyes to meet hers and silently whispered, "Thank you."

And then he was gone. Caroline's hand still hung in the open air where he had just held it moments before. Whatever it was Klaus was hoping to find, he'd found it and then he vanished. But Caroline knew that wasn't the last she would see of him. She'd given him hope, although it wasn't intentional or at least she continued to tell herself it wasn't intentional so that she could cope. Whatever had just happened Caroline knew it wasn't over. Why he'd left so quickly she wasn't sure, and she didn't know whether to be relieved or upset. She slowly lifted her hand to her face as if to see if the place that he had kissed looked different than the rest of her skin. There was no difference, but she caught the scent of his after shave. It was robust and aged and undeniably sexy, unlike the silly weak fragrances the boys wore at Caroline's school. Klaus's scent made them smell like pansies.

When Bonnie entered the kitchen a few minutes later, Caroline was standing there with her hand softly resting between her nose and upper lip. As soon as she saw her friend, she quickly jerked her hand down towards her side.

"Bonnie," she exclaimed much shriller than she had intended.

Bonnie stared at her with a puzzled expression, "Are you alright Caroline,"

"Oh, yeah, yeah, I'm fine," Caroline tended to overdo it when she was trying to cover something up.

Bonnie just raised an eyebrow and proceeded to ask, "Is the coffee ready?"

Damn it, Caroline had completely forgotten to turn the coffee on, "Um, I was just turning it on."

"It's been a half hour Caroline," Bonnie was now looking at her friend with concern and a hair of frustration.

"Yeah, I….I had to grind the coffee beans fresh, and you know, clean everything out. Your immune system is suppressed when you are emotional, and I don't want to be the cause of you coming down with a cold because my coffee pot was grimy," Caroline knew that was probably the worst cover story that she had ever coming up with in her entire life, but Bonnie was tired and not in the mood to debate with her or even get down to the bottom of what was really going on.

"Okay," Bonnie drawled suspiciously, "just bring me a cup when it gets done, and pour some for Abby too. It won't be long."

"Okay, got it," Caroline replied flipping the power button so it glowed green.

"I'll be in the room with Abby," Bonnie stated as she turned around and proceeded to walk out of the kitchen back to Caroline's bedroom.

When the coffee pot beeped a few minutes later Caroline hastily poured three cups of coffee and rushed to her room slowing down only before entering so as not to disturb the reverent atmosphere. She handed Bonnie hers and sat Abby's on the night stand next to the bed. Abby was still dead, but just as Bonnie had said earlier, it wouldn't be long.

Caroline walked over to place her cup on her dresser when she noticed a small square box with a cream ribbon. It had become a familiar sight.

Klaus had been here. Again. But why?


	6. Herbs and Intentions

**SO, I REALLY WISH THAT WE DIDN'T HAVE TO WAIT UNTIL MAR 15 FOR ANOTHER EPISODE BECAUSE I FEAR MY STORY IS IN DANGER OF TOTALLY GOING ROGUE NOW, BUT OH WELL.**

**MORE KLAUS/CAROLINE IN THE NEXT CHAPTER, BUT ENJOY THIS CHAPTER OF BONNIE/CAROLINE BONDING AND CAROLINE'S INNER STRUGGLE WITH HER PERCEPTION OF KLAUS. =)**

If her heart was beating it would have been racing at the sight of the small box with the ivory ribbon. She indulged herself for a moment, feeling what she wanted before scolding herself. She snatched the box off the dresser at vampire speed and whirled around to face Bonnie.

"Um, I forgot to turn the coffee pot off," she blurted, "don't want to burn the house down," she added with a weak smile.

Bonnie just eyed her hesitantly, "It's only been a couple of minutes."

"Yeah, but it's one of my mom's hang ups," that actually was partially true. Her mother was very anal about turning the coffee pot off, but not quite to this extreme, "be right back."

And with that Caroline quickly excused herself. She found a chair in the corner of the living room, out of the direct line of sight from the bedroom in case Bonnie came looking for her.

She stared at the box for moment, tracing the ribbon with her finger before she took a deep breath and delicately untied the ribbon and opened the lid to the box. Inside there was a note rolled in an all too familiar fashion along with a mixture of herbs. She unrolled the note and read:

_Caroline,_

_Thank you for your words tonight._

_Please excuse my quick departure, but I thought it best to leave you with your friend. The herbs are for her mother. They will help deaden her emotions, making the transition easier. _

_Save me that cup of coffee._

_Klaus_

She held the note closely as she lifted the small box to her nose to smell whatever concoction of herbs Klaus had left. As soon as the scent hit her nostrils she coughed at the intensity. Yep, they were strong alright. She walked into the kitchen and set the box in front of her on the counter, placing a fresh cup of coffee next to it. She stood back and eyed the two objects trying to decide whether she should empty the contents of the box into the cup. Would Abby know? Would Bonnie know? Could she trust Klaus? He hadn't lied to her before. It didn't seem like this would be the time he would all of a sudden choose to begin. She paced back and forth in front of the cup and box and read the note again, and again, and again. She knew the words would not change, but she was trying to place Klaus in them. Klaus the evil hybrid, not the Klaus she'd become accustom too, but once again she found herself struggling to connect the dots between his two personas.

It wasn't fair. Why her? Why did he have to play these mind games with her? She knew that he wasn't intentionally toying with her head, he meant every word, but he was messing with her perception of truth. He was supposed to be the bad guy and do evil things. He was supposed to rip out Abby's heart just for kicks, not give her herbs to help her transition easier. What the hell was that? It was kind and thoughtful was what it was. And what made it worse is that she knew he didn't really give a damn about Abby, but he was doing it to make Caroline happy.

Suddenly she heard a gasp come from the bedroom, and then Bonnie called to her, "Caroline!"

Her choice was made. She grabbed the little box, dumped its contents into the cup, stirred it in haste, and headed for her bedroom, "Coming Bonnie!"

Caroline entered the room to find Abby sitting on the bed, holding her knees to her chest, looking frightened. Abby's eyes were wide and wild and Caroline could tell that she was feeling overwhelmed by her surging senses.

Bonnie reached out to touch her mother's arm, "It's going to be okay, everything is going to be fine." Bonnie's tone was soft and gentle and reassuring, but it wasn't doing anything to bring Abby any sense of relief.

"What, what happened," Abby rambled off with slight panic in her voice. She was struggling to keep control of her body and make sense of what had occurred all at the same time, "Where am I? Why, why do I feel so, so," her voice drifted off into a loud moan, "GAH! Everything is so bright and spinning and loud and…."

"Alive," Caroline chimed in. Abby's gaze immediately fixated on her, and Caroline continued, "Abby you are in transition. All of your senses are heightened. They are trying to push to feed and complete the process."

Abby's eyes filled with horror, "No, no, this can't be happening," she looked to her daughter, "Bonnie, this isn't true, is it?"

Bonnie's eyes moistened as she squared her shoulders in a way that Caroline had grown accustomed to. It was the stance Bonnie always took whenever she had to keep herself strong to deliver unpleasant news, "I'm afraid so. Damon fed you his blood and then killed you in order to cut off Esther's ability to channel our family's powers."

"But, why? Why would he do something like that?" Abby insisted in desperation, "I thought they wanted Klaus and his family dead!"

"They do," Bonnie assured her, "but, Elijah became wise to the plan and kidnapped Elena. If they didn't stop Esther from completing the spell, Elena would have died."

"So instead," Abby paused, "I was the collateral damage."

Caroline and Bonnie just looked at Abby. They had both been there. In the exact same spot as Abby. They'd both at one time or another been considered "collateral damage" in some scheme involving Elena. Katherine had turned Caroline to send the Salvatores and Elena a warning message that she meant business. Bonnie had faked her own death in order to hoodwink Klaus and become the "secret weapon" to destroy him and save Elena. They knew what it felt like to have their lives considered second rate next to someone else's, and it sucked. There was no other way of saying it. Not that Bonnie or Caroline wouldn't do anything in their power to save their friend, but it was demeaning to be reminded over and over again that their lives didn't mean as much as hers. And Damon was the master at reminding everyone of this with both his words and his actions. Now, Abby had been taught this lesson first hand.

"I'm so sorry," Bonnie professed to her mother, "He'll pay for this."

"Woah," Caroline chimed in, as she took a step closer towards the bed, "Easy there warrior witch. Let's first focus on the issue at hand." Caroline reached out to Abby and gave her the coffee mug, "take this and drink it. It will help you feel better."

"Coffee?" Abby gave her a puzzled look, "I already feel like I've drank 50 cups of coffee."

"Trust me," Caroline reassured her, "just drink it."

Abby shrugged her shoulders and then took a big sip of the warm beverage. Caroline stared at her, eyes wide, waiting in anticipation. She didn't know exactly what she was expecting. Abby to fall over dead? She already sorta was. Abby to get high? That was a possibility. Abby to fall into a deep, comatose sleep? That would sorta certify her death if she wasn't able to feed. Abby to go rapid and attack Bonnie in her quest for blood? That wouldn't really be a "deadening" of the emotions exactly, unless if Klaus was referring to shutting off all human emotions when he had wrote "deaden". Oh crap! Caroline hadn't considered that option. She was hoping that it would treat Abby like a good aroma therapy massage. Hell, she would even welcome the high option, but she hadn't considered that the herbs could actually take Abby's choice away from her by making her instincts purely predatory. Oh shit, what had Caroline done? She'd acted on impulse, that's what she'd done. She'd wanted to temporarily fix the problem at hand, but underneath it all she wanted to trust Klaus. Because if he had somehow helped Bonnie's mom in her darkest hour, maybe there was hope for him. Caroline wanted to believe this.

But now, she just felt like a stupid idiot.

"Caroline," Bonnie reached out and touched her friend on the shoulder, "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," Caroline replied at a much higher decibel than she'd expected. She took a deep breath and calmed herself, "It's just a lot, you know?"

Bonnie just nodded sympathetically.

Caroline watched as Abby slowly released her knees, allowing her legs to straighten out and then leaned back against the headboard. She looked, relaxed. Like aroma therapy relaxed. Like, I just had a great massage relaxed. Like, maybe I had three glasses of wine instead of two, relaxed. Caroline allowed her own stiffened posture to soften. Abby was going to be okay. Caroline had gotten herself worked up over nothing. Go figure.

Caroline decided she should ask though, just for safe measure, "Abby, how are you feeling?"

"I'm feeling much better, Caroline," Abby calmly replied, "you were right. The coffee helped."

This made Caroline smile inside, but she didn't allow herself the luxury of showing this for she knew the seriousness of her next question, "have you made your decision Abby?"

Now, Bonnie tensed, and Caroline put her arm around her friend.

Abby captured eye contact with Bonnie and reached out to her daughter to grasp her hand, "If it's okay with you Caroline, I'd like a moment alone to talk to Bonnie about this," she solidly replied.

"Oh, yeah, of course," Caroline agreed. She gave Bonnie one more hug before she turned and left the room.

Caroline went back into the kitchen and took a seat at the table. She finally indulged in her cup of coffee which, due to the events of the evening, had been ignored up until this moment. She let the warm, bitter taste soothe her worries and dull her anxiety.

So much had gone on. In just two short days her perspective of the world had been challenged, her alliances tested, and her feelings questioned. Whatever the hell was going on Caroline didn't care. All she wanted to do was sit and enjoy her cup of coffee and not think about life and death, vampires or witches, betrayal or choices, and definitely not hybrids or the Original family. She just wanted to sip on her coffee and look at nail polish colors in the magazine that was sitting on the table. And so she did. Caroline just sat there in the kitchen, drinking her coffee, flipping through a magazine for almost an hour until Bonnie came in.

"Caroline," Bonnie said and that's all it took for Caroline's attention to be snatched away from her brainless task.

Caroline jumped out of her seat and addressed her friend, "Bonnie, what did she decide," her tone was sympathetic. She couldn't read Bonnies face. She couldn't tell if it was worry or sadness painted across her friends features.

"I need some blood," Bonnie finally added, "she's going to go through with it."

Caroline rushed to her friend's side as a very fragile Bonnie collapsed into Caroline's arms. Bonnie heaved sobs, "I'm happy Caroline. I really am, but I" her sobs choked off her voice, "it's just not fair she had to make this decision. No one should have to make the decision to cheat death. No one!"

"Shhh" Caroline tried to comfort her friend as she stroked her hair.

Bonnie looked up into Caroline's eyes with tears streaming down her cheeks, "Caroline, I know that you were alone. You didn't ever have the choice. You didn't know any better. But, people shouldn't cheat death, Caroline. It's not right. Look at what happened to Jeremy. It's just not supposed to happen."

"So, are you saying that you don't want her to transition?" Caroline questioned her friend. Confused by her exclamation earlier that Bonnie was happy.

"No, I want her to change Caroline. I don't want to lose her," Bonnie declared, "and that's why I'm so upset. I'm mad at myself for not wanting to let her go. I'm mad at myself for not being able to do the right thing and just say goodbye."

"Oh Bonnie," Caroline swept her into another hug, "You can't be mad at yourself for not wanting to lose your mother. You just got her back. I begged my father not to leave me. I gave him a heartfelt speech, and did everything I could but flash blood in front of his face." Caroline tried to comfort her friend with her words. "But in the end it was his decision, and I had to accept that. It's her decision Bonnie. You can't carry that burden on yourself. If she wants to change, it's her decision."

"Don't you understand Caroline," Bonnie pulled away to face Caroline again, "she's doing this for me. She told me she just got me back and she wasn't going to lose me again so soon. She told me that to leave me now when I needed her most would be like abandoning me all over again. So, as much as it's her calling the shots, I'm the reason for her decision and that makes me the guilty one."

"No Bonnie, it doesn't," Caroline reprimanded her friend. Now, Caroline was upset. Why did all of her friends have to be such martyrs and always blame themselves for other people's choices, "we are responsible for our own actions. And if you are so blessed to have someone love you so much that you are the motivation for a selfless act you should be grateful."

"Then why does this feel like a curse," Bonnie pleaded.

"Because love is not easy. It's the most unpredictable thing in the world. It's a burden and a treasure. You can't have one without the other," Caroline stated matter of fact.

Bonnie was smiling at Caroline now through the tears, which was making Caroline feel slightly uncomfortable.

"What is it?" Caroline probed.

"Caroline Forbes, you are amazing," Bonnie simply answered.

"Oh, I know," Caroline played with her, "but, may I inquire what part of my amazinginess you are complimenting presently?"

Bonnie nodded, "Your insight."

"My what?"

Bonnie continued, "it's just that you talk a lot, but buried amongst all your rambling are these gems of insight that you so flawlessly portray, and when it happens it makes me really proud I'm your friend."

"Aw, thank you Bonnie," Caroline replied, "that means a lot." And it did meant a lot to Caroline to hear Bonnie say those words. She was proud. "Now, not to totally change the subject and ruin our friendship bonding moment, but I think that your mom would probably really appreciate some blood right about now."

"Right!" Bonnie cried.

"And Bonnie," Caroline called to her friend as she walked to the freezer to grab a bag of blood,"if your mom is anything like you, she's going to do just fine as a vampire."

"Thanks, Caroline. I know she will," Bonnie replied and the two shared a smile before heading into Caroline's room to seal Abby's fate.


	7. A Note from Another

When morning came Bonnie and Abby were gone. Caroline lay alone in her bedroom now, where just a few hours ago the three of them had been gathered as Abby drank greedily from the blood bag and completed her transition. It had gone smoothly, just like Klaus had said it would. Bonnie and Abby had left shortly after. Caroline told them they were welcome to stay as long as they needed, but Bonnie really wanted to go home. When Bonnie said "home", Caroline knew Bonnie meant Gram's old place. It had been left to Bonnie in Gram's will, and that's where Abby had been staying when it was apparent that she was going to be hanging around for a while to help with the coffin. Now it would be Abby's refuge for an indefinite period of time, but it didn't seem like either of them minded. Caroline new that, despite the hard front Bonnie had been putting on up until this point; she'd been enjoying her time looking through Gram's old stuff with her mom. Although the circumstances now sucked, the fact that they had each other made them bearable. They would be okay. Caroline could feel it. Of course she hadn't let them leave without a good supply of blood bags.

"Your first few days you'll be craving blood like crazy," Caroline had told them as she handed off the large cooler, "it's your bodies way of trying to restart everything, but don't worry it will get better. Then you'll only need to feed when you know you need to. Human food and alcohol help stave off cravings."

"Thank you Caroline," Abby had replied as she took the cooler, " I really don't know what else to say. You've been a true friend to Bonnie and to me."

They all exchanged hugs, and then Bonnie and Abby drove off into the darkness, in Caroline's car of course. There was no way she was going to make them walk, and it wouldn't have been good for Abby had they ran into a jogger coming off of the second or third shift. Although Bonnie was the safest person for Abby to be with because Bonnie could save Abby from herself, Caroline didn't want to be the one to put them in any vulnerable situations where Bonnie had to intervene.

Caroline had tried to sleep after they left, but it seemed like sleep was no longer her friend these days. She'd managed rob a few hours, but she could feel the exhaustion deep in her bones as the sun peeked from behind her curtains. She had to get up. Face the day. Check on Bonnie. Talk to Elena. Play 20 questions with Damon. Call Tyler. Compel the billing person at the hospital to forget about Matt's bill.. As always she would struggle to put the pieces of their shattered, unnatural lives back together. She would fight for normalcy despite the chaos, try to bring some sunshine to the darkness, it was just her nature.

First thing first though, she needed coffee. There was no way she was making it through this day without some really really strong coffee. She jumped out of bed and headed for the kitchen. Generously piling the coffee scoop high and dumping in to the coffee maker.

"Rough morning?" her mom asked as she walked into the kitchen.

Caroline rubbed her eyes and yawned, "More like a rough night."

"Are you hung over?" her mom inquired as she moved in to see if she could smell any alcohol on her daughter.

Caroline rolled her eyes, "Seriously? You're worried about my alcohol consumption?" Caroline just started at her mother dumbfounded, "There is the original family of vampire's living down the street. A centuries old, dead witch that's really pissing them off because she's hell bent on killing them, and a serial murder running around staking humans like they are vampires," she paused for a breath, "I think that you have plenty of reasons to worry about me, but how much I'm drinking is not one of them."

"Okay, I'm sorry," her mother responded in defense, "but you are my responsibility still vampire or not." It all seemed so simple to her mother. Liz had known about vampires long before Caroline. She'd known about this parallel reality that challenged truth and sanity, but somehow still when push came to shove the answer to why Liz worried about Caroline was so simple that it frustrated Caroline like none other. She was her mother therefore it was her job, no her duty, to be concerned. But things weren't that simple, nothing was that simple, not anymore. So when Caroline didn't respond because she didn't really feel like arguing with her mother, Liz continued, "And your dad just died, hunny," her tone became softer with her last words, "How am I supposed to know how vampire's cope. I just care Caroline, that's all."

And there it was. Her mother's simple answer. Caroline let out a sigh, "I know, I didn't mean to snap. I just haven't been getting enough sleep with everything going on."

Her mom walked over and cupped Caroline's face in her hands, "I'm here for you, if you need to talk about anything. I'm here."

It took everything Caroline had in her not to just grab her mother, place her in the kitchen chair and tell her everything. About Abby and Bonnie, about Stephen and his struggles with his humanity, about Elena and the strain that was currently on the three girl's friendship, about Matt and the blood slut Rebekah, about Tyler and how she didn't know what to feel about what he was doing, and about Klaus. How he'd been wooing her. How she'd warned him. How he'd helped Abby. How her perception of truth and reality were being challenged not because vampires, werewolves, and witches exist, but because of one man who was supposed to be one way, but had been everything to the contrary when it came to her. That's why life wasn't just simple anymore, and she couldn't just accept simple truths, because the fact was that truth was anything but simple.

But, she couldn't do it. As much as she wanted to, she couldn't so she simply responded, "I know mom, thank you."

They shared a tender smile, and just like that their moment was over. The way it always was.

Caroline's mom walked over to the kitchen table to take a seat and began reading the morning paper. Caroline took the opportunity to go back to her room to get ready for the day.

She emerged about forty-five minutes later feeling much better. It was truly amazing how a few curls, some eye liner, and lip gloss could pick up her mood.

Her mom had left for work already, but when she walked back into the kitchen she saw a note on the table from her.

_Caroline,_

_Try and have a good day sweetie._

_Love,_

_Mom_

It was short and to the point, but it made Caroline smile as she walked over to the counter to pour herself a cup of coffee. The note did more than that though. It made her think of another note that she had received the night before. It made her think of Klaus.

She gave the ceramic mug in her hands a long, thoughtful look before placing it back in the cupboard. She walked over to the pantry, shuffling boxes and bags of food around until she found what she was looking for. She emerged with two travel mugs which she proceeded to fill with coffee. There was one more thing she had to do today. She had to go see Klaus. She owed him a cup of coffee, and a thank you.


	8. The Type

**OKAY GUYS, SO HERE IT IS, MORE KLAUS AND CAROLINE. YEAH! I'VE HAD A FEW PEOPLE SUGGEST THAT I WRITE FROM KLAUS'S PERSPECTIVE TOO. ALL I CAN SAY IS…..AH!...THAT IS SUPER SCARY TO ME FOR SOME REASON. I JUST DON'T KNOW. I'LL GIVE IT SOME THOUGH, AND WE'LL SEE. OKAY? =)**

Half-way to the Original's mansion she'd began to question just how necessary it had been to give Abby and Bonnie her car last night. She was going to have to stop at a gas station or something before she arrived to make sure she didn't look like a complete mess. Caroline hated not looking presentable.

So she did just that. A few blocks from the mansion she stopped a small hardware store and asked to use their restroom.

"It's for customers only," a tall, gangly looking middle aged man with yellow teeth and unkept hair poking out from underneath his backward baseball cap told her as he pointed to a sign that declared in bold, black, crooked, sharpie letters _Bathroom's for Customers only_. This wasn't Chicago, New York, LA, or any other major city. This was Mystic Fall's for crying out loud. Where was the small town hospitality? It wasn't like she was a squatter looking to take a shower in his sink. She wasn't even going to use his toilet, and frankly based on his own personal hygiene she wouldn't even want to. She just wanted to check her lip gloss, and this arrogant man had to make that difficult. Well, he had something else coming. He'd pissed off the wrong girl.

At first Caroline had liked the idea of compulsion and getting people to do whatever she wanted, but now she rarely ever used it. Her memories of how Damon had used her kept her in check. She didn't ever want to be a monster like that. People deserved to have a choice. They deserved to be the keepers of their own minds. But, when they were clearly stupid, arrogant, morons that were really trying to just piss her off with their smug little smiles, she took pleasure in the act.

"No," she simply said, capturing his eyes with her own, "that is for normal customers, but you are going to make an exception for me. You are going to let me use your bathroom, and then when I'm done, you are going to go and clean it until you could eat your dinner off the floor and drink out of the toilet bowl."

When she finished she simple asked again, "Do you have a bathroom I could use?"

"Of course sugar," the man replied, "it's right around the last shelf on the right. Oh, and sorry if it's a little grimy. I'm a gonna be cleaning it as soon as you are done."

"Oh, it's no problem," she replied with a grin, "I'll be quick."

As Caroline walked out of the store she determined it was definitely a good idea that she had gone in to check her appearance. A few leaves had found their way into her hair, but more importantly that restroom would have been a health hazard to any normal person. If nothing else she had saved an unknowing customer from contracting some ghastly illness from the bacteria that lurked in that place. A shiver went down her spine at the thought. Gross.

The mansion was just as majestic in the broad daylight as it had been magical in the shadows of the moon the night of the ball. Leave it to the oldest family of vampires to find the hidden gem in this small town. As she approached the front door, Caroline began to doubt her own sanity. Klaus didn't need coffee. He didn't need her thanks. I mean did he really even deserve her thanks when compared to all the evil he had done?

The answer, Caroline determined, was obviously yes. When someone does something kind, they deserve a thank you. That act deserves to be acknowledged and recognized independently from all other acts. A current kindness could not redeem past offenses, but it also could not be disregarded because of them. There was a reason that Klaus treated her differently. Maybe, just maybe, if she treated him differently, there was hope for him.

She wouldn't allow herself to forget what he had done. She wasn't a dumb lamb about to be fooled by a wolf in sheep's skin, but she had to consider, even if it was the silliest thing in the world to ponder, that maybe the wolf wasn't wearing the sheep's skin so he could sneak in a eat the sheep. He is a wolf, he doesn't need to hide in sheep's skin to get close enough for his kill. But, maybe he was wearing the sheep's skin because what he really wants is to be accepted by the sheep. It was a crazy, mad thought and Caroline almost laughed at herself for thinking it, but despite its lunacy, it was a possibility.

She took a deep breath, and knocked on the door. The wood was old and sturdy and vibrated with low bass tones like a laugh from deep within.

Rebekah answered. Caroline didn't know why this surprised her. She didn't know why she had just assumed that Klaus would be the one to answer the door. There were four of them living there. There was a greater chance that Klaus wouldn't answer, but for some reason she had just pictured him answering. Now this was awkward.

"Damn," Rebekah swore, "I thought you'd be the Fedex man."

"Sorry to disappoint you," Caroline replied sarcastically, "but, I don't have any packages for you."

"I could care less about my package," Rebekah retorted, "I'm hungry," she purred.

Caroline just eyed her with disgust, "Well, I can't help you there either."

"No, I guess you can't," Rebekah's annoyance was starting to show in her voice, "What do you want?" she asked as she leaned against the door frame and examined her nails.

"I'm here to see Klaus," Caroline asserted.

Rebekah lifted one eye brow, "Of course you are," she expressed.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Caroline demanded.

"I just heard how you tried to save his life and blah, blah, blah, whatever. I don't really care," Rebekah testified before she screamed, "NIK! You have company!"

Caroline really did not like Rebekah. She was such a brat and an attention whore.

Seconds later Klaus appeared, "Caroline," he stated surprised, "please forgive my sister and her lack of common hospitality. Please do come in." He added with a smile as he ushered her into the home with his motions.

"Thank you," Caroline simply replied as she slid by Rebekah, shooting her an evil glare over her should. Rebekah reciprocated.

"My sister has quite the temper and lack of manners for that matter," Klaus continued to apologize for Rebekah's rudeness as they made their way into the living room.

"Tell me something I don't know," Caroline quipped as they each took a seat on a sofa near the fireplace.

Klaus smiled in amusement, "Yes, I suppose you have had time to realize this for yourself."

They sat their awkwardly for a moment, or at least Caroline did. Klaus didn't appear to be uncomfortable at all as he stared at her, but Caroline could feel her skin warming under gaze.

"I, I brought coffee," she finally blurted out.

"I see that," he confidently replied as she handed him a mug.

"Sorry if it's cold. I sort of had to run over here because I lent my car to Bonnie so she could take her mom home last night," Caroline explained. She then took a sip of her own coffee. It was still warm. Good.

"I'm sure it's quite alright, love. How did things go with Bonnie and her mother?" Klaus inquired his eyes were warm and gentle, but most of all concerned.

Caroline stared at him, searching for that thing, the thing that would give him away. Show his true intentions, reveal some evil master plot that she had somehow become a peg in, but it wasn't there. The only thing that was there was genuine interest and a little bit of alarm that it was taking her so long to answer.

"Um," Caroline started as she recaptured her train of thought, "Good, good, yeah. That's actually what I came here to talk to you about. Abby chose to turn."

"Well, that's great, but it must be hard for Bonnie seeing she's a witch and all," Klaus sympathized. He was sympathizing? "Somehow witches always seem to become involved in the affair of vampires, but it's not necessarily to their liking."

"Yeah, it took Bonnie a while to get use to the idea of me being a vampire, but I think that because she's been able to see that I'm still the same person I was before, it is helping her cope with all of it," Caroline replied.

"Now, I hardly believe that to be true Caroline," Klaus interjected.

"What do you mean it's not true?" Caroline demanded, shocked that he would make such an accusation.

"You mean to tell me that you are no different now than you were when you were human?" Klaus prodded, the look in his eyes was like that of a teacher trying to get the right answer from their student.

Suddenly Caroline felt very small, "Well, yes and no," it was a terrible answer, but Caroline didn't know how else to answer him. She was still the same Caroline. She still liked the same things, cared the same way.

"Okay, that was vague. Come on Caroline, I know you can give me a better answer than that," Klaus urged.

"Fine." Caroline curtly responded. He wanted an answer, well here it was, "I'm not a monster. Vampires don't have to be monsters. I need blood to survive, but I don't have to kill people for it. I don't even have to hurt people for it. I still like school dances, and shopping, and parties with lots of people even if I don't know most of them. I still don't like getting up in the morning, I love curling my hair, Elena and Bonnie are still like sister's to me, and I don't know what I'd do if I didn't have my mom and our awkward mother daughter moments." Caroline paused, "So there, I am different but I'm still the same Caroline." She folded her arms across her chest, "Satisfied?"

He looked at her, searching for something before simply replying, "No."

"No? What do you mean no?" what was up with him and always needing more. It was incredibly frustrating.

Klaus smiled, "Were you always this strong?"

Caroline paused, took a breath to squelch her growing irritation. He wasn't trying to be annoying, well may be a little, but he just wanted to know her. She could be strong, but she didn't have to blow off the handle every time his inquisitive mind caught her off guard, asking for more than she had originally been willing to offer. He was just curious.

"No," she answered, but looking into his eyes she knew that her one syllable response would not satiate his curiosity. She held her head up high, "I use to be really neurotic and insecure, and sometimes I still am, but I think that becoming a vampire and realizing there is so much out there beyond my control somehow helped me with that."

"How about your compassion?" Klaus prodded further.

"What do you mean my compassion?" Caroline didn't really understand, " compassion is more Elena's thing."

"Mmm, no love, I beg to differ. Elena may get recognition for it because she bestows it on everyone. Your compassion is much more precious because it is only given to those you care about," Klaus replied, "and for them it has no bounds."

Caroline was speechless. The way he had just revealed something to her that she did not even realize about herself, it was so intimate. She felt exposed. Like book without a cover.

"I hadn't ever thought about it like that before," Caroline replied.

"Well, Caroline, you are not an ordinary woman," Klaus smiled the smile which danced in his eyes, "I assure you there many wonderful things that you do not realize about yourself."

Caroline smiled and she could feel her face start to bloom in a blush. He was smooth. That was for sure, but she hadn't come here to be flattered by Klaus, despite how good it felt. She came here for one reason, to thank him for his help.

She looked down to break from his gaze and refocus her thoughts, "I came here because I wanted to thank you," she looked up again to see Klaus with a shocked expression, "whatever was in that box you left, it really helped Abby, and," Caroline didn't know if she should add the next part, but she decided she would go for it, "and it meant a lot to me."

This made Klaus smile, "You are welcome. I'm glad that I could be of assistance."

"Does it feel good?" Caroline inquired.

Klaus looked at her puzzled, "Does what feel good?"

"Knowing that you helped someone" Caroline finished.

"Well, of course it does," Klaus replied, "Why wouldn't it?"

"I guess because all I knew of you up until that day you walked into my room and saved my live, was that you were this evil hybrid that tried to kill my best friend, sired by boyfriend, took Stephan's humanity, and tried to have me killed twice," Caroline defended herself, "I guess I just assumed that all you knew how to do was bad guy things."

This made Klaus laugh, "That's an impressive list, love."

"Oh, that's the short list," Caroline shot back playfully.

He let out a sigh, "I cannot deny any of the things that you've said. But you have to understand Caroline, you have to open your mind and look at this from more than just your perspective."

Caroline eyebrows knitted together, she didn't like this at all but she decided to hear him out, "Okay, shoot. I'm not saying that I'm going to agree with you at all, but I'll hear you out."

"I don't expect you to agree with me. But, I'm a man use to getting his way," Klaus replied, "I'm not going to try to paint a better portrait of myself for you because that would be futile. I like to think of myself as an honest man. It's not really my fault that people hear their own version of the truth in my words. I kept my family in daggered in coffins, a strange action but one that I saw necessary to keep them safe. It was always my intention to reunite them, but it was going to be on my terms," Klaus paused and looked at Caroline. She felt a lump building in her throat and her stone heart thrusting like the wings of a humming bird, "Most importantly, I want what I want, and I go after it. You may think it's wrong to demand obedience, that I expect it, but I've lived a long time Caroline, I've trusted to many times in my life and been let down. Think of a short human life, and how the world can make people cynical in just 40, 60, or 80 years. Now imagine all of the betrayal I've experienced in 1,000 years even in my own family. So rather than leave loyalty to chance, I wanted to require it in my own race. In order to do that I had to break the curse, and that is where your friends and you came into play. I'm not sorry for breaking the curse." he paused again to let Caroline absorb his words, "I have a bad temper. When people don't listen I lash out and often do reckless things. Some of the things I have done have been unnecessary, but your friends, or should I say mostly the Salvatores, make it very difficult to keep chaos minimal. They always think that they have a plan, but in the end it is one of you that ultimately pay the price for their foolishness. They seem to only respond to acts of violence. You may think I am arrogant to believe that I should not be defied, but the fact is if they would just mind their own business and allow me to keep to mine the world would be a much happier place. I would have no need to make an example of any of you," Klaus took one of Caroline's hands in his own, "You think it's wrong that I hurt your friends. You love deeply, and thus my offenses against them have been offenses against you, and that love, is my only regret."

Caroline just looked at him. In some twisted way it all made sense. It wasn't right. Klaus definitely had some major issues he needed to work on, but it wasn't completely without reason.

"I do not seek justification for my actions," Klaus continued, "many times I willingly choose to do a bad thing and it is not completely without pleasure, but just because I am capable of wrongful action, does not mean that I am not capable of doing good." He squeezed Caroline's hand which she hadn't even realized he still had a hold of.

Caroline closed her eyes, trying to absorb it all.

"Caroline, I don't think you fully understand what you did last night," Caroline's eyes opened and found his as Klaus continued, "for 1,000 years people have been trying to kill me. Some pretended to be friends to find a weakness; others sought the help of magicians and witches. There attempts were relentless. None, of course, came as close as Mikael. He was the only one I ever truly feared," he paused and his eyes holding her alluringly, "but never, has someone looked out for me. People plot to kill me, they don't try to save me."

Yep, Caroline's action was going to have major repercussions. She was right. If there was any doubt of Klaus's affection for her before last night, her little 'warning' sealed the deal.

"I think I should go," Caroline rattled off, uncomfortably.

"Was it something I said?" Klaus inquired. Well, duh. He knew the answer.

"More like everything you said," Caroline quickly replied, "It's just a lot. I mean you are the oldest vampire who's not just a vampire, but an indestructible hybrid so why shouldn't everyone listen to you? Right? You are the biggest baddest monster out there, so it only makes sense. But, the fact that you know it and just expect it. It's just hard to grasp. I mean a hot girl walks into a bar and knows she could have any guy there, but that doesn't mean she can expect that she will. It's just a little twisted.I honestly don't even know what I'm saying anymore. I just really need to go," she stood abruptly and started heading for the door.

Klaus cut her off, "Caroline, are you leaving because you have to or because this is getting uncomfortable for you?"

"Just stop it, okay? Stop it with your direct, pointed questions that I have to answer honestly because there is no way to answer them vaguely," she retorted and tried to get around him.

But there he was again, cutting her off, "I'm trying here, love, but you are making it really difficult to connect with you. I thought things were going well." He looked at her confused.

"Well, you thought wrong," Caroline snapped back, "and what makes you think I want to connect with you anyway?"

"You brought me over coffee?" Klaus responded in a question statement, "If that is your way of telling a guy to get lost, you need to work on your technique."

"I, I," Caroline stammered, "just move out of my way," Caroline gave him a shove.

"No, not until you explain to me why you all of a sudden made a bolt for the door," Klaus now had a hold on her upper right arm.

"Let go of me," Caroline demanded.

"No," Klaus snapped.

"Let me go!" Caroline screamed.

"Answer me," Klaus's voice was slowly rising.

Caroline tried to pull away, but Klaus whirled her around and now had her pinned to the wall, a hand on either side of her shoulders, his body hovering over hers, his eyes indignant. Their closeness made Caroline start to burn inside. She wanted to hate this man, but with him hovering so near, searching for the truth in her eyes, she just wanted to stay there and let him study her. She wanted to study him. She wanted to learn everything about him. He had revealed to her some of the reasons for his actions, but she wanted to piece the entire puzzle together. She wanted to figure him out. She found him fascinating, and that is why she had to get the hell out of there. She had to run as fast as she could away from this man or she may not ever get away. She had come today hoping to find some shred of humanity in Klaus. Hoping that she wasn't crazy for thinking there might be, but what she found was far more dangerous.

Caroline had a type:

Matt – recently dumped, missing mom, dead sister – full of pain and abandonment in need of hope and love

Tyler – dead dad, dead uncle, werewolf transformation – full of pain and abandonment in need of hope and love

Klaus – A life, long lived, full of pain and abandonment, in need of hope, in need of love

She was screwed, and she knew it. If she didn't get out now, those blue eyes and charming accent were going to keep her coming back, and she couldn't. It wasn't right.

The look in Klaus's eyes started to shift as he studied her face, watching her resolve slowly break. Suddenly he was no longer looking at her in annoyance, but his eyes held a certain magnetism as he slowly leaned in and whispered smoothly in her ear, "Now how about you answer my question."

Caroline shuddered, "No."

Klaus didn't move from her ear, "That's not the right answer, love," he whispered again.

Caroline closed her eyes, and breathed in his cologne. The scent she'd smelled on the letter earlier.

How was she going to get herself out of this mess?

Did she want to get out of this mess?


	9. Personality Disorder

Caroline's breath was hasty and shallow, her eyes closed. Her body was acting in fear, keeping her plastered to the wall. Her mind was confused, keeping her silent, and it was as if her body and mind were acting in correspondence with her heart which was burning, wanting to keep him this close. Time was lost to her. What had only felt like a mere matter of minutes could indeed have been hours. Caroline didn't know. All she knew was the scent of Klaus, the feeling of his breath on the hair of her neck as his forehead rested on the wall behind her, and the heat rolling off his body into her pores as he hovered over her.

His hand smacked the wall behind her abruptly causing her to shudder. Klaus was clearly frustrated with her lack of response, but Caroline couldn't give him the answer he desired. And even if she could, did he really deserve it? Even if she would never allow herself to actually be seduced by him, did he deserve the satisfaction of knowing that he'd gotten under her skin?

"Caroline"

It was one word, one simple word, her name no less, and the silence was betrayed by Klaus's voice, but his tone was not indignant like Caroline had expected it to be. Rather it was gentle and pleading. She could feel that he had pulled his head away from the wall, and that he was now looking at her.

"Why do you torture me so with your silence?" he finished.

And she opened her eyes to meet his, heavy and earnest. She couldn't keep them closed any longer for fear that her heart might break from the anguish in his tone, but rather it was set to flame by the look in his eyes. He was so vulnerable, so human, so beautiful. Why couldn't he always look like this? If only he could stay like this forever.

As if to spite her thoughts, Klaus pushed away from the wall, releasing her. The edges of his features sharpened, his eyes grew cold, and his expression turned to stone. Caroline's insides cringed at the shift in his person.

"Leave," he stated emotionless.

He turned around to walk away from her, but she reached out and grasped his shoulder. She couldn't let it end this way. Not when she'd just seen him without his mask of villainy. She couldn't let him just put it back on so easily, switch it all off. Maybe he could do that with everyone else, but if he wanted any piece of her he was going to have to prove that it wasn't that easy to just turn it off with her, damn it. He was going to have to feel.

"Wait," she called after him, but before she could say another word he'd captured a hold of her wrist and drawn her tight to his chest.

As he looked down at her, eyes vexed, "You've toyed with me enough for one day," he spat before he threw her wrist from his grasp and once again turned to walk away.

"You can't just do that!" she yelled after him, "you can't just grow cold and storm away when you don't get what you want!"

He turned back around to face her, "I think that you've forgotten who I am, love. I can do whatever I please."

"No," she replied defiantly, "you can't do that with me."

He was angry, but also curious. Caroline could tell that she had his attention, and she was going to take advantage of that.

"You blame me for toying with you," she interposed, "What the hell do you think you are doing to me?" her arms raised and then fell to her sides in order to exaggerate her point. That was it. Caution to the wind, he was going to hear exactly what Caroline had been thinking.

He was stunned now, and was about to say something in his defense when she cut him off, "I'm not done yet," she stated and pointed at him, "You're a hypocrite. All you've done is toy with my head since the day that you waltzed into my room and saved my life with your Birthday speech and snazzy diamonds."

She was walking towards him now, eyes locked with his, warning him not to say another word until she was finished. She stopped a few feet away and let out an exasperated sigh, "My whole world has been flipped upside down, and it's not because I'm a vampire or my best friend's a witch or even that Elena's got a psycho Doppelganger that use to be in love with the exact same brothers as she is," she took a step closer and glared at him, "No, my whole perception of what is true and what is real has gone to hell because of you," she whipped out her arm and gave him a little shove, "You had to walk into my life and not be the psychopathic, evil, villain that you are to everyone else. You had to show me a 'different' version of you, so that it's difficult for me to imagine the other one. You just," she paused to catch a breath, "you can't do this to me anymore. Either you feel or you don't. I can't handle both."

He stared back at her. Blue eyes wide, mouth slightly agape, unable to speak.

She took in his dumbfounded expression, gathered a deep breath, turned around, and headed towards the coffee table where her travel mugs were.

"Caroline," he called after her.

She swiveled around on her heels, "NO, you don't get to talk until you've had time to think," she reached down and picked up her mugs. She headed towards the door, but before she was out of the room she glanced back at him. Her mind was made up, her eyes determined, "You want me to get to know you, fine," she stated and something that looked like shock then hope flashed across Klaus' features, "but you and your personality disorder better come up with a solution as to who the hell it is you are."

And with those departing words, Caroline turned around and left him standing there. Klaus didn't try to follow.

When she was a safe distance away from the house she fell to the curb, and placed her head in her hands. What had she done? She'd just given Klaus a pass into her life. That's what she'd done, and whether or not it came with an ultimatum, which she doubted very highly he would even give a second thought to, she'd given him what he wanted. She knew all along this was what would happen if she set foot in his house. It wasn't a surprise to her, but that didn't make it any less distressing. Caroline was intentionally playing with fire, and she knew she would get burned. She was just hoping she could minimize the scarring.

She was so stupid, but she also knew there was hope for Klaus. That really was the only explanation she had for her foolish actions. It wasn't a good explanation. It definitely wouldn't win in a fight with Bonnie, Elena, Stefan, Damon, Alaric, Jeremy, Tyler, Matt, or even Alaric's psycho new girlfriend. She probably couldn't even convince the anonymous bartender that serve's Klaus his drinks that she was doing the right thing. But she was.

It had to be.

She picked herself up, and began making the journey to Bonnies. She didn't want to think about her problems anymore, so she'd focus her energy on someone else's. Bonnie was a perfect candidate. Helping Bonnie with her problems would numb Caroline to her own like a good narcotic. Even if the effects would wear off, that didn't matter. Given Bonnie's current situation Caroline knew that Bonnie would need her, but the truth was Caroline needed Bonnie just as bad.


End file.
